In the olden days, one could reasonably rely on the Atlantic 10 to provide us with no fewer than five NCAA Tournament teams. However, this year seems as if it will be the first since 2007 that fewer than three A10 teams will make the NCAA Tournament.
That is unless someone can upset the Rhode Island-St. Bonaventure duopoly.
Those two teams are currently projected to be in the field as of now. Both teams have been in the running for at-large bids; winning the A10 Tournament would obviously be huge for either team. However, nothing is ever certain for mid-majors, so winning four straight games in Washington D.C. is the only goal.
Despite the relatively rough season for the A10, few teams have proven that they can play spoiler to the Bonnies and Rams — namely the Davidson Wildcats. But the bottom two-thirds of the league is very close together in skill, so it’s well within reason that a team playing on Wednesday night can find its way into a weekend game.
Bracket
For you visual types, here’s the actual #A10MBB bracket!
— Atlantic 10 MBB (@A10MBB) March 4, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL: https://t.co/KDmjdAneuF#A10inDC pic.twitter.com/9fdaHPQLuY
Predictions
Only a few weeks ago, it seemed as if Rhode Island would have been a lock to cut down the nets for the second straight year. But they’ve shown some vulnerabilities as of late, dropping games to both St. Bonaventure and Davidson.
Meanwhile, the Bonnies haven’t lost since January 19th. The tandem of Matt Mobley and Jaylen Adams is riding high, accounting for 18.2 and 20.5 points per game, respectively. They are simply stunning and seemingly unstoppable. They are the best contenders to unseat Rhode Island.
Finally, the Davidson Wildcats are poised to make a big run, having quietly waited in the wings while upsetting some of the league’s biggest names. Led by the stellar Peyton Aldridge, the Wildcats know that their only hope of playing in the Big Dance will be made true by winning the A10 Tournament this weekend. They’ve been tested, and they can very easily win this thing.